


I'm Fine

by Snorp_Lord



Series: The Manor [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Darkiplier Mark Fischbach, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27604928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snorp_Lord/pseuds/Snorp_Lord
Summary: Derek messed up an order and Dark was displeased. Illinois does his best to be there for someone who doesn't accept help easily.
Series: The Manor [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012359
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	I'm Fine

**Author's Note:**

> As this is about to make abundantly clear, my attitude to canon is if it doesn't spark joy throw it out :>

In hindsight, somebody should have stepped in before the yelling got too out of hand. It was rare for Dark to get as furious as he used to, much less because of a simple mix-up, and unheard of for his anger to be directed at Derek Derekson. While most of them had taken at least some time to settle in and test the limits of his patience, Derek had quickly learned exactly where the line was and got on with whatever was needed of him. Granted, he still bitched at the coffee machine or made snide comments under his breath while he worked, but in general, he’d work damn hard and stay under the radar. Exactly what it took to prevent getting under Dark’s skin.

Unfortunately, his luck had to run out sooner or later. And all it took was a mistake in purchasing- an extra zero on one of the orders that he fucking knew he should have waited for Randall to check over. Three in the morning was never a good time to do something important. But he’d spent half his life prepping orders, and it was the last thing on the list for the week. If it was done right then and there, he’d get the weekend to relax a little, maybe go out for a drink. Even if Dark dropped something on him last minute, it would be the only thing, and that should be fast enough. So he’d glanced over it one more time before submitting the order.

Of course, it wasn’t their liaison that was in the wrong for not questioning the order. It certainly wasn’t Dark’s fault he’d added the merch order onto Derek’s already daunting task list for the week, because why would anything be his fault? It was Derek. Because he’d hit a button.

“I don’t care what your excuse is, I care how you’re going to fix it!” Dark didn’t even have the decency to scream at him in private. He was just standing by the dining room table while Dark sat there like a king on his goddamn throne. Maybe that was how he saw himself sometimes. With that high and mighty attitude, it wouldn’t even be much of a surprise.

“Look, we don’t have a lot of options. You can delay the orders another week so I have time to get the rest of the shit in, or you can let me source it from someone else and pray to whatever the hell a guy like you prays to that'll get it in a little faster. Those are your options. Four days is the best offer you’re gonna get from anyone, even if you blow the whole fucking staff to make them extra agreeable, you hear me?” Never mind that that was his weekend to himself gone. Contrary to popular opinion, Derek took some pride in his work, and leaving a huge cock-up like that unsolved just didn’t sit right with him. He was volunteering himself because it was his screw-up, so it was his to solve, just like Pops always taught him.

What he wasn’t expecting was for Dark to stand up abruptly, slamming his palms on the table and strangling any resolve he might have had to fight back. Which was probably the intention. “I am  _ not _ discussing this with you any further, Derek. Now get out of my sight before-!”

Dark’s arm whipped between them. Looking back, it was probably to point to the door. Just like Dark did after many meetings gone sour. He gestured a lot. 

In the moment, Derek stepped back, his breathing picking up. Probably loud enough to be heard. Embarrassing really. He didn’t even so much  _ step _ as  _ scramble _ back. Like a stupid puppy, his father used to say. “ _ Jumping out his skin ‘cause the breeze blew a little too loud,”  _ just like he said.

Without even meeting Dark’s eye, he knew the entity was looking at his slightly raised hands. They barely reached his waist level, but there was something tense and defensive about even that stance, only made more obvious by his fucking obnoxious breathing- did it really have to be so loud? People outside the room must have heard it, never mind Dark. 

“I-I’m going.”  _ Don’t stutter, boy. You’re not taking one of your little girlfriends out! Spit it out!  _ Derek took a deep breath and straightened up. “I’m going. I’ll try and fix it.”

Dark opened his mouth to say something, but must have thought better of it. Instead he simply nodded and took his seat once more. Probably more to get Derek to leave quickly than anything else. Derek was silently grateful for that.   
  
His hands hit the door harder than he was expecting them to, a loud bang resounding from the stained oak and a sharp, lingering pain biting into his palms before fizzling out right to the tips of his fingers. He didn’t stop to look if someone had been eavesdropping on their conversation, though it was easy to assume yes. Hell, they didn’t even need to be near the door for that. The common room wall connected to the back wall of the dining room, and it was easy to hear yelling through these walls. Part of him wondered if that might be intentional. Dark liked to conduct his little disciplinary sessions in the dining room, and the common room was where almost everyone else gravitated at one point or another in the day. Letting the others hear was a good way to announce  _ exactly  _ what was going on without having to interrupt the sanctity of their so-called ‘family dinners’.

Nowadays, it was less likely that was why. Dark had mellowed quite a bit between Bing’s arrival and his own, apparently, and no longer gave in to his horrific temper whenever it flared. But all his brain could focus on for the moment was getting past the common room’s open door and into somewhere private to calm down. Ground floor bathroom. That worked. There were ensuites in the rooms, too, if someone was desperate, but he just...needed to be out of view.

Passing the common room door was tense. Despite how irrational it was, Derek held his breath as he walked past, like he was trying not to wake a sleeping dog.   
  
Nobody said anything.    
  
Derek sighed deeply and opened the door to the ground floor bathroom, making sure to let it go slowly, so it wouldn’t slam, before locking it. Safe. For a while, at least. 

And of course, because the universe was a cold and unfeeling place, someone knocked on the door. “Hey, pal. Things seemed...pretty dicey in there, with Dark. You okay?” That was...Illinois, right? One of the newer guys. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but we heard the yelling. Over in the common room. Me and Yance. Nobody else was in there.” That was a relief, and it couldn’t be an accident that Illinois chose to mention it quickly. 

“I’m fine,” Derek mumbled in reply. And then again, louder: “I’m fine!”

“You don’t sound it. No offense. You sound like you just had one scary son of a bitch yelling in your face outta nowhere and it got under your skin, same as anyone else.” 

Derek leaned over the edge of the sink, both hands gripping so tight his knuckles were as white as the porcelain. “I said I’m fine. I got shit to do, and you do too, most likely. Just gimme my space.” He didn’t just feel like his dad, he looked like him, with his face twisted in a scowl like that.

“Nope. Got absolutely nowhere to be, darlin’. You’ve got me as long as you want,” he teased. Then his voice came back, softer. “All jokes aside...I can stick around. I’m new around here, remember? Got all the time in the world.”   
  


“I  _ don’t. _ ” He hated the sharp edge to his voice. There was no need to snap. Illinois was actually being incredibly thoughtful, in his own way. But right that moment, there was something tense and fragile in his chest, like glass, something ready to snap, and he was just trying to keep it away from people until it passed. That was easier than letting it get the better of him. Eric would probably agree.

A sigh came from the other side of the door. “Alright. I won’t bother you none.”

Derek frowned deeper, glancing back at where he assumed Illinois’ head was. Maybe he’d be wearing those dumb leather boots that were clearly meant to make him just a bit taller. He never left the hat behind either. Probably not even when he was asleep. So he was definitely wearing it now. “...You might be the only one in the house who hasn’t learned to mind his own yet.”

“Made a career out of sticking my nose in places it ain’t wanted, darlin’. If I learn better who knows where I’d end up? Maybe an office. I’d die of boredom. Speaking of which, how is work treating you?”

Tough question. On one hand Eric was actually working alongside him, and having friends around the house had done wonders for his confidence. He still stuttered, granted, but it was rare these days. Once he’d even rolled his eyes at one of Derek’s rants. It made him oddly proud. He’d never even think to do it in front of his own father.    
  
On the other hand, he was so tired his eyes hurt. When he gripped the sink, he could feel a resounding ache from his shoulders down to his fingertips, just like the pain when he’d slammed the dining room doors, or when he’d slammed his palms on his own desk just like Dark barely a week ago, demanding Randall get out of his office right away. There was a scraping, grinding sort of pain wearing on his insides with every passing day. 

“I’m fine.”

The silence that followed was more telling than anything Illinois could have actually said. Eventually, he just went with: “Sure.”

Derek finally loosened his grip on the edge of the sink. “I fucked up the merch orders. Big time. Didn’t read properly, so we have five boxes instead of fifty.” As soon as his hands slipped away, his head fell forward, knocking into the mirror painfully. “Dark got to it before me.”

“...That’s uh...That’s rough.”

“Yeah. It is. But it’s fine. I’ll figure something out. Go to another company, or try the original one again, find some way to fix it.” 

Again there was a brief silence. But this time it was broken by Illinois testing the door, checking if it was locked. “Sounds like a big job for just one fella. You sure you don’t want a little company along the way?”

He glanced back at the door, and found his gaze lingering for far longer than he expected. “...Sure. Why the hell not?”


End file.
